This game has unused areas. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has a hidden level select. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences.

Unused Graphics

Files: ABERUB.BAN, ABESIZE.BAN, ABEYAWN.BAN
Three miscellaneous animations for Abe, probably meant to be chosen at random while idling.

Unused Screens

Screen ID: L1P01C17
A Story Stone overview of the Monsaic Lines, in the style of similar screens found in Paramonia and Scrabania. This was replaced with a different screen with a poem, a better fit with the mystical atmosphere of the area.

This screen remains untranslated in the Japanese version.

Screen ID: D2P06C08
This screen, found in Scrabania's seventh trail, is located underneath the bottom-rightmost area. The conspicuously industrial platforms are only found in this area, and the collision on said platforms is spotty at best. Since there are no objects on this screen, the well on the left is completely nonfunctional.

Unused Audio

Sounds

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An unused clip of a Slig saying "Stay!". This would be the equivalent of Abe's "Wait!" command, but for Slogs.

Music

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While there is no place in the Monsaic Lines that an Elum is ridden, music exists for such a scenario, and seems to work if an Elum is hacked into the area.

Unused Text

Hint Flies

To replace the first Hint Flies message with one of the unused message, search for the following hex string in E1.LVL (or the entire ISO): 97 01 AA 00 AF 01 C2 00 13 00. Replace 13 with the appropriate message ID.

ID

Message

Notes

00

SNEAK TO BOMB

Meant for one of the several instances in the game where an inactive bomb is placed near a Slig.

01

ABE WAS HERE

An obvious joke message to test the Hint Flies.

02

TEST THREE

An even more obvious test message. Come on, look at it.

03

LEARN THE SECRET SONG

This message implies that the bell songs had to be rung manually. In the final version, they're automatic.

04

BRAVE THE RING

Probably a hint for the pull ring puzzle in Paramonia.

06

SEEK A ROCK

Too generic to pinpoint an exact situation for this one.

0A

DROP IN

Seems to be a hint for the second part of the Paramonia pull ring puzzle.

0C

POWER WHISPERS FROM SHADOWS

The only real "powers" in this game are the spirit rings and Shrykull.

19

RETURN TO RUPTURE FARMS

This message was replaced by a background sign in the second Stockyard sequence.

1F

SNEAK BY SLIG

Another hint that's too generic to give an exaction location.

23

THEY WONT CHASE WHAT THEY CANT SEE

This situation never really comes up in the game. This is also the last message by ID.

LCD Boards

There are three messages left in from the demo version of the game:

ID

Screen #

Message

97

R1P16C07

Possess Sligs by chanting. Chant by holding [L1] and [L2] at the same time.

98

R1P16C04

To help Mudokons escape from slavery in Rupture Farms, chant when you see a circle of birds. To chant, hold [L1] and [L2] at the same time.

A0

E1P06C06

You're almost free, Abe! You must get through the stockyards. Good luck ... and watch out for those Scrabs! They haven't been fed in awhile.

Regional Differences

One major change for the Japanese version affected all versions of future games: The smallest finger on the Mudokons' hand was chopped off. The change from four to three fingers was due to the original design being offensive to Burakumin, a low-class Japanese working group known for common work-related incidents at the time which resulted in workers' fingers being chopped off. Rather than getting into a legal battle with or paying fines to a certain unnamed pressure group, Oddworld Inhabitants elected to change the design.

Gameplay

When the player reaches a new checkpoint in the Japanese PlayStation version, a "CHECK POINT" graphic appears above Abe's head.

There's only one other, but rather major, change: After pulling the lever to activate the trial wells in the Monsaic Lines, only the Paramonia well activates at first in the Japanese version. In all other versions, both the Paramonia and Scrabania wells activate, so the player can tackle either area first.

Japanese PS and Windows Version Differences

There are few differences, but these are of note:

In the PlayStation version, the LCD's letters are pink. In the Windows version, they are reverted back to green and red, like the International version.

In the PlayStation version, a "CHECK POINT" animation in Japanese appears above Abe's head. In the Windows version, it's a rhombus instead, like the International version.

Graphics

International

Japan

"Whistle 1" and "Whistle 2" are replaced by musical notes, and L1 and L2 are no longer colored.

International

Japan

Since the resolution of Abe's sprite is so low, the only animation that really needed changing was his chanting animation.

International

Japan

The directory interface had to be redrawn as well...

International

Japan

...as did the Story Stones.

International

Japan

Obviously the image of the Mudokon Moon had to be changed on this screen.

Cutscenes

Note that only the shots changed were the ones where a Mudokon hand is conspicuously present. There are several instances of the four-fingered design in the Japanese version, possibly due to the financial cost of re-rendering every shot of every cutscene.

This is RuptureFarms

International

Japan

The "Mudokon Pops" ads were made considerably less grisly for the Japanese release, due to current events at the time. (According to the official art book, it's a really long story.) This change was also carried over to all versions of Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus.

International

Japan

The meat chart directly after the ad now uses the updated three-fingered design.

Barrel Ride

International

Japan

After Abe is knocked out by the hanging pipe, the shot with his outstretched hand now only has three fingers.

All other shots in this short cutscene use the four-fingered design.

Abe's Moon

International

Japan

Since the impact on the Mudokon Moon had four fingers, it also had to be changed, otherwise its significance in the story would be fairly inexplicable. All shots of the "dead" Abe use three-fingered hands as well.

Paramite Scar

International

Japan

In addition to the finger removal and respacing of the remaining fingers, the Paramite scar was redrawn.

Strangely, even though Abe and Big Face's hands are prominently featured in many shots, the only changed shot is the last one.

Scrab Scar

International

Japan

As above, the Scrab Scar was redrawn for the Japanese version.

Since this cutscene recycles a number of shots from Paramite Scar, the four-fingered models are featured once again in all versions.

Shrykull Revealed

International

Japan

Abe's hands are now three-fingered in the shot prior to his Shrykull transformation.

The shot of Abe shaking his hands was left as-is in the Japanese version.

What A Drag

International

Japan

Standard finger change as Abe is dragged off by Slig guards.

Bad Ending

International

Japan

The native Mudokon who decides Abe's final fate lost a finger. Amusingly, a stitch-like mark was added where the finger used to be.

Good Ending

International

Japan

Same ol' finger changes. Additionally, as Big Face is teleporting Abe out of RuptureFarms, he gradually glows brighter and brighter in the original version. This glowing effect was taken out of the Japanese version.

For this cutscene only, Big Face's loincloth was recolored from yellow to brown. The reason for this change is unknown.

International

Japan

Redesigned hands and recolored loincloths, for the final time.

Credits
The Japanese credits are stored in the file C1.MOV. In all other versions, C1.MOV is a dummy file that the game uses to trigger the credits slideshow. As a result of this change, the Japanese version is the only version that has the credits scroll by at a reasonable pace.

Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser.

In the international version, the credits reuse the main menu music. The Japanese version instead has an entirely different song, Hello Hello ~Abe's Theme~ by Japanese group B/V, albeit in an instrumental version; the game's Japanese commercials featured a vocal version instead, the full version of which was released on a CD single which also featured the full instrumental version and a remix. Check it out! (The Japanese PC version has the normal OST).

The Japanese credits are missing this screen found at the very end of the international credits.

Revisional Differences

There are five different versions of Abe's Oddysee, released in the following order: Revision 1.0 NA, Revision 1.0 EU, the PC port, the Japanese release, and Revision 1.1 NA.

Change

PSX 1.0(NA)

PSX 1.0(EU)

PC Port

PSX 1.0(JP)

PSX 1.1(NA)

PC Port

(JP)

General

Abe's Exoddus Promo

No

No

No

No

Yes

No

"The Shrink" Video

Yes

Yes

No

Yes*

No

No

Cutscene Cleanup

No

No

N/A

No

Yes

N/A

Pull Ring Color

Purple

Silver

Silver

Silver

Silver

Silver

Meditation Graphics

Old

New

New

New

New

New

GT Europe Image

No

Yes

No

N/A

Yes

No

RuptureFarms

Collision Fix

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

N/A

Stockyard Escape

Collision Fixes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Monsaic Lines

Tube Graphics Fix

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Paramonia

Collision Fixes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Beehive Screen Change

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Scrabania

Collision Fixes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Bat Route Fix

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Continue Point Fix

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Scrabanian Temple

Trial 1 Scrabs Fix

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Hoist Object Fixes

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Scrabanian Nest

Scrab Fixes

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Stockyard Return

Collision Fixes

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

RuptureFarms 2

Zulag 4 Slig Fix

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Abe's Exoddus Promo

This is only present in Revision 1.1. Before starting a new game in this version, there's a prompt to watch an abbreviated version of the Abe's Exoddus intro.

This is the screen that appears after the Exoddus video ends.

The Shrink

This video, only accessible through the Cutscenes menu cheat, can only be seen in-game in the original version of the game. It was intended as a television advert for the game, but was never aired for some reason. The creepy robot dude is apparently called The Shrink, and was intended to make a return in Munch's Oddysee, watching over Sam the Mudokon Queen, another cut character.

Even though the video was removed, it's still listed on the Cutscenes menu in Revision 1.1; Trying to view it will freeze the game for about 30 seconds, then play the Oddworld Intro video.

*The video is on the Japanese PSX disc, but it was removed from the Cutscenes menu, so the only way to view it is with a PSX movie viewer.

Cutscene Cleanup

To make room for the new Abe's Exoddus video, some unnecessary cutscene videos and copies were removed in Revision 1.1.

Graphics Changes

The color of the pull rings in RuptureFarms was changed from a cheery lavender to an industrial silver.

Old

New

Barely noticeable, but the Mudokon meditation graphics were touched up a bit in later versions.

Old

New

The tube overlay on screen L1P01C11 of the Monsaic Lines was redrawn to mesh better with the surrounding graphics.

Old

New

GT Europe has a concept image in Revision 1.1, which is nice and all, but it squeezed Germaine D. Mendes and Emily Britt out of the credits!

Collision Fixes

There are a number of places in the original version and PC port that needed collision updates in future releases.

RuptureFarms
Screen ID: R1P20C05
In this area of RuptureFarms, if Abe runs off the right side of the screen, he'll warp to the screen to the right and continue falling until the game freezes. An invisible barrier was added to fix this problem; Abe now hits that barrier and dies if he falls to the right.

Stockyard Escape
Screen ID: E1P04C02
If Abe jumps at the rightmost edge of the cliff above the bird portal, he'll go inside the wall and into the next area, where he'll promptly be eaten by a Slog. The collision object for the cliff wall was extended upwards to fix this bug.

Paramonia
Screen ID: E1P04C02
If Abe jumps back into this screen while riding Elum, a garbage sprite will appear and fall in the bottom-right corner of the screen. A harmless bug, but it was still fixed by extending the collision of the floor more to the right.

Scrabania
Screen IDs: D1P03C04, D1P08C05
While there doesn't seem to be a way to activate the Elum jump glitch on these screens, the horizontal collision objects were extended anyway.

Stockyard Return
Screen ID: E2P04C01
If Abe jumps at this point on the screen, he'll go inside the wall and fall to his death after traveling through the screen to the left. The wall boundary was extended upwards to fix this little problem.

Other Area Changes

Paramonia

Old

New

Screen ID: F1P02C04
The first version of the game lacks the spike barrier on the left edge of the platform. This was presumably added to keep the player from jumping off the left side with Elum with no way to get the lift back down.

Scrabania
Screen ID: D1P02C06
In older versions of the game, it's possible to grab the right ledge and avoid getting hit by the bat below if you time it just right. If the player hits the checkpoint on the next screen, this leads to an unwinnable situation: The lift can't be grabbed on to, so the player can't go back to get Elum, who is required in the next section, and if the player dies, they'll respawn on the screen after this one.

This nasty oversight was fixed by tightening the bat's route. It's still possible to perform this exploit, but you have to be frame-perfect to do it.

Screen ID: D1P07C14
The first version of the game has a checkpoint on this screen. This checkpoint is redundant, since the last checkpoint was on the previous screen, about two jumps to the left. Removed from all other versions.

Scrabanian Temple
Screen IDs: D2P02C02, D2P02C03
Both of the Scrabs in Trial 1 are tagged to continue updating even if Abe moves off-screen, which can result in one or both of the Scrabs getting stuck in a wall. It's possible to move both Scrabs onto the same screen, which inevitably leads to a fight and the death of one of the Scrabs.

Screen IDs: D2P02C04, D2P05C09, D2P08C08
The hoist objects were repositioned slightly on these three screens. It's unclear what effect, if any, this has on gameplay or on fixing any particular bug.

Scrabanian Nest
In newer versions of the game, all Scrabs are tagged to stop updating once Abe is far enough away from them.

RuptureFarms 2

Old

New

The Slig puzzle here was heavily modified from the original version of the game. In the original version, the Slig looks to the right for between 90 and 180 frames, waits 60 frames after spotting Abe before shooting him, and will chase Abe back to the previous screen. It's possible to completely bypass the Slig without killing him in this version, which leads to a big problem when the player has to travel back out of the area and the Slig shoots Abe the second he walks through the door.

Future versions make the following changes to prevent this from happening:

The Slig now looks to the right for 60 frames, with no randomness whatsoever.

The Slig is now placed right in the doorway, so it's impossible to run past him with any timing.

The Slig will now shoot Abe after waiting 30 frames, not 60 frames.

The Slig will no longer chase Abe into the previous screen, and its position resets after Abe runs back.